Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) and Mike Lowrey (Smith) are best friends and detectives in the narcotics division of the Miami-Dade Police Department. They have just completed the biggest bust of their career, having confiscated about 100 million dollars worth of heroin. Which would have probably earned them an award or two...if the heroin wasn't immediately stolen from a supposedly secure police vault. Now the two partners have some investigation to do, while the Internal Affairs Office is threatening to shut down their entire division and Howard, their chief, is getting desperate for a breakthrough. Their main suspect is Fouchet (Tcheky Karyo), a French drug-lord active in their area. Their only lead to him is Julie Mott (Tea Leoni) who recently witnessed her best friend get killed on his orders.

Bad Boss: Fouchet, who never had pity for anyone and orchestrated several murders pretty unnecessary. He masterminds the theft of millions of dollars worth of heroin from a police station evidence lock up. To that end, he has one of his men dress up as a police officer, and then kills him in order to create a distraction. When Eddie, who helped him set the heist up, decides to party with some hookers and a tiny portion of the stash, Fouchet kills Eddie, kills his chemistry team for "fucking with my schedule", and murders his buyer when the police interrupt the deal.

Big Little Man: A hacker is helping the heroes and gets into an argument with one of them. When he stands up to start shouting, it's revealed that he's much taller than "the short one" who's arguing with him.

Black and Nerdy: The convict who hacks into databases for the duo. Complete with Urkel glasses. By the sequel he's apparently been released and is either a civilian or got hired by the police.

Butt-Monkey: Marcus, who is not pleased of being the one getting the short end of the stick. Lampshaded right at the beginning of the movie.

Marcus: Why do I always get the big thick muthafuckas?

Cluster F-Bomb: In a specific scene, Mike gets into one about why he's not just a "rich kid playing cop".

"Ho! What did I say? Did you hear what I said? I heard what I said 'cause I was standing here when I said it! I told you. I told you to secure a witness. Not to shoot up a neighbourhood! Not to do another dead body! Just get the dope back and do it quietly."

Also mocked when after revealing his plan to catch the bad guy towards the end of the film, Mike exclaims: "My shit always works sometimes!"

Marcus: (in an exaggerated, nasally "Caucasian" voice): We were wondering if we could borrow a cup of brown sugar...?

Mood Whiplash: Julie calls the PD crying about Max's murder, and will only speak to Mike. At which point, Captain Howard and Marcus get into an argument about how to impersonate Mike to keep her on the line.

Mugging the Monster: The two carjackers at the beginning of the movie had the bad luck of choosing to jack one with Mike and Marcus inside:

Mike: Let me tell you how bad a day you're having: right now you're jacking a couple of cops.

No Warrant? No Problem!: Lowrey and Burnett are discussing that there appears to be no one home at the house of a suspect, and Mike leans in and opens the door, saying out loud "I tripped, and the door just opened. It's like they wanted us to come in."

Non-Idle Rich: Mike chose to become a cop despite being born into wealth. This became a Discussed Trope when Marcus mentioned everyone thought Mike was "a rich kid playing cop".

"What, I'm supposed to apologize for my family leaving me money? All I ever wanted to be was a cop! I go out there and take it to the max everyday! I'm the first guy through the door and I'm always the last one to leave the crime scene! So you know what? Fuck you, and fuck them, and fuck everybody that's got a problem with Mike Lowrey!"

Orbital Shot: Used after Mike saves Marcus from being hit by the taxi during Julie's kidnapping.

Plot-Triggering Death: The murder that Julie witnesses occurs at the start and drives the rest of the plot.

Pre-Mortem One-Liner: Said by Marcus before killing a villain by exploding the plane he's on: "You forgot your boarding pass!"

Rare Guns: After he is defeated, Fouchet attempts to pull out a four-barrel COP .357 Derringer, which is no longer in production. Unfortunately for him, Mike is quicker on the draw.

Rasputinian Death: Fouchet's fat henchman gets shot in the chest by Lowrey with a shotgun, falls backwards into a high voltage transformer which electrocutes him, and the resulting sparks ignite the jet fuel at his feet, setting him on fire.

Reading Your Rights: Marcus rattles these off during a car chase. The villain, of course, is in the other car.

Marcus: You have the right to remain silent. Anything you do will be held against you in a court of law.

Those Two Guys: The two Hispanic detectives Sanchez and Ruiz, who exchange some barbs with Mike and Marcus on occasion, and help them during the climactic firefight.

Titled After the Song: The film is named after the song "Bad Boys" by the reggae group Inner Circle, which is best known as the theme tune to the television series C.O.P.S.. The characters even sing along to the song at one point.

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